Acceptance
by ac135
Summary: For troubled teens, Izumi and Yuka offer advice, and help. However, the word 'therapy' doesn't apply to these sessions. Instead, different teens experience something called unconditional love, and acceptance. Will a group of especially stubborn teenagers be able to open up? And this especially goes for Mikan Sakura, who doesn't have any faith left in adults.
1. Chapter 1

**My version of 'therapy' is not accurate, I have little experience so don't take it as an example please.**

**I feel very strongly about this topic, and I want everyone to be aware that teenagers often times are very much in need of help and encouragement, and most importantly, acceptance. Teens need a good role model, and most don't end up with one in their personal lives.**

* * *

This is the story of how my life was changed, just because of one of those cursed people, 'adults'. I hate it when people pity me, like they're looking down on me, but when I met this person, they had a different reaction from anyone I've ever met. It wasn't pity, and yet it wasn't scorn. It was more like…

* * *

"Did she really say something like that to you?"

A man nodded, writing something down on a notepad. The woman who was questioning him frowned worriedly. "And you just let her get away? Izumi, she could be in a serious crisis!"

Izumi didn't look up as he replied. "She was threatening me with a stick, Yuka, I really don't think it was the time to be considering a new client."

Sighing, Yuka bowed her head in disappointment. "Darn. Well keep your eyes peeled, alright? I suppose we do have our hands full already, though."

The sitting room the couple was currently in had a cheerful appearance, with many different bright, vibrant colors splashed around. The polka-dot pillows helped to add a sense of familiarity, and the soft red sofas gave off a feeling of friendliness, as well as being comfortable. In fact, the entire room was decorated carefully, each color and piece of furniture given a lot of thought, almost as though a certain reaction was anticipated.

Because, after all, it was a therapy room. Well, that's what the formal name was. Izumi and Yuka Yukihara preferred to call it a 'conversation' room.

For years, the two had spent time together with different teenagers, getting to know them, and doing their best to offer advice. They came across many different cases, and a different approach had to be invented every time. They were very well-known among many different doctor's and psychiatrists, but refused to associate themselves with those people. Teenagers, they would say, are very sensitive, and if you start telling them that they're there because they have problems, something's wrong with them, that kind of crap, then of course the person would immediately pull up their defenses.

"Hey, Izumi. Are you going to take this session?"

Izumi nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I think it's best, since she seems to be a little distrustful of you for whatever reason."

Yuka laughed. "What on earth is so distrustful about me? But I agree, when I met her she seemed to become stiff, at least from what you've told me."

Smiling, her husband walked out the room, assuring Yuka that nothing was wrong with her.

* * *

In another room, designed the same ways with the same colors and big windows looking brightly out on the city, Izumi sat across from a raven-haired girl, who stared coldly towards him.

"Ah, good afternoon, Hotaru."

His Thursday client, Hotaru Imai. She definitely would be a tough nut to crack, but he was confident that after a while, no matter how long, she would open up.

"Sensei. Good afternoon."

Nodding, he took a sip of his coffee. Holding it up, he smiled at her. "Want some?"

Hotaru didn't answer, just stared at him blankly. With a sigh, he placed his mug down on the coffee table that stood between them. "So, aren't you curious as to why you're here?"

With a tiny shake, Hotaru cooly denied his question. "Why should I? I have received all of your… 'information files', and I know everything I should. You received a call from my parents, and I am currently in the middle of a therapy session."

Izumi winced. "I see that you're a very capable person, Imai-san, but please refrain from calling these talks 'therapy'. I'm not trying to convince you of anything, and I definitely don't follow any rules, or play any tricks on your mind."

This may have caused a stir in the girl's icy heart, but if it did he couldn't tell. She simply turned her head to stare out the window.

Laughing, he used his practiced ability at keeping the atmosphere light. "Well, I suppose we've got a few hours to kill then, don't you agree?"

Hotaru sniffed. "Fine then, I suppose we do. You wouldn't happen to mind me asking a few questions, would you?"

Knowing full well what to reply, after years of experience, Izumi shook his head happily. As long as you agree, make it well known that you have nothing to hide. "Feel free."

Snorting, the girl pulled out her cellphone, on which she had apparently prepared a list. He should have known that the daughter of the famous Imai's would come well prepared for battle.

Now, the only question was who had the strongest will-power.

* * *

Yuka softly closed the door, not wanting to disturb the process of the conversation. It was absolutely off-limits for anyone, even her, to eavesdrop. That's part of what made them so popular, since even therapy sessions at a professional place would sometimes record the clients, which was very unsettling.

"Hello? Yes, this is she. Oh?" Yuka's voice grew more excited. "Really? That's great! But are you sure it's alright?" A pause. "Yeah, we'd love to give it a shot."

Ending the call, Yuka pulled out an application form and started filing it out. An employee came in with coffee after a while, and leaned against the desk. "A new client, huh Yuka?"

Yuka turned to glare at the spiky-haired boy. "Don't call me so informally, you impudent brat!"

Ducking, Tsubasa dodged the pillows thrown at him. "Geez, you can never take a joke, woman!"

In a sudden transformation, Yuka halted and immediately started smiling sweetly. "Oh Tsubasa, you're so silly! And yes, I'm filling out an application for a possible new client. Would you do me a favor and do the interview? It's a good chance for you to gain some experience."

Raising an eyebrow, Tsubasa sighed, distrustful of the sneaky woman's painfully-fake sweetness. "Whatever, as long as it doesn't get in the way of my date with Misaki. What time?"

"Oh goody! Yes yes yes, marvelous! Just get here tomorrow at normal time, and I'll leave that person to you."

Groaning, Tsubasa left the room. "Why do feel like I'm going to regret agreeing to this…?"

* * *

**Please let me know what you think :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't know how popular this story's gonna be, but I'm glad at least a few people gave it a shot :) Thanks for the review, and the fav, and the follow!**

* * *

"… Yuka?"

Said woman smiled sweetly at her employee. "Yeah?"

Twitching, Tsubasa stared uncomfortably at the boy who was sitting in the therapy room.

"Y…You sure you want me to handle this one?"

Laughing mockingly, Yuka waved him in. "Go on, you'll do just great! And don't forget, you have to keep him talking for an hour, alright?"

The young man just winced, staring fearfully at the raven-haired boy sitting inside the room. "W-wait! How am I supposed to get that guy to talk to me? He practically killed me just with his glare!"

The door slammed shut. Sweat dropping, Tsubasa forced a smile and took a seat across from the boy. "Hey! I'm Tsubasa."

The younger boy just glared at him, not replying. Sweating, he leaned back. "So, what's your name?"

"Don't even think about it." came the fierce reply.

"Eh?"

"Don't try and act all friendly, moron."

His grin faltered, and Tsubasa let out a sigh. "Alright, alright, kid! But I'm not just pretending to be friendly. Now, would you please tell me your name?"

A pause, then… "Natsume."

"Great, now we've broken the barrier! Although… I have no idea what either us are doing in this room, understand?"

Natsume didn't respond, so Tsubasa took this as a 'yes'. "Well my boss is gonna kick my butt if I walk outta here early, so would you mind telling me a bit about yourself?"

Natsume scoffed. "Stay out of my business, would you? It has absolutely nothing to do with you."

Tsubasa grinned. "Eh? But you're the one who's sitting in a therapy office, so don't you kinda think it _does _have something to do with me?"

The younger boy just turned his head cheekily, and Tsubasa let out a sigh. This was what he got for getting on Yuka's bad side. That devil of a woman…

* * *

"Hey, watch it man!"

Izumi turned his head, smiling apologetically at the teenager he had just bumped into, then let out a loud gasp of surprise when he saw who she was.

"You!" He exclaimed excitedly, causing her to turn back and look at him. It took a minute, but her eyes flashed with recognition. Not to his surprise, she gave him a furious glare. "Get out of my sight, and stay away from me, got it?" With that said, she headed for the opposite direction from which she had come.

Staring after her, Izumi took in her appearance with a critical eye. Her hair was light brown, but it looked so tangled and dirty that he wouldn't have been able to tell if his wife didn't have the same color. Her eyes had been hazel, he had noticed that when they flashed a glare at him yesterday. Her clothes were obviously worn and old, just a pair of torn jeans and a tee-shirt and jacket that were definitely second-hand.

On a sudden impulse, he ran to catch up to her, touching her shoulder gently. She immediately turned to glare at him. "You again? What the heck! Are you looking for a fight?"

Laughing, he scratched the back of his head. "Not really, I'm no good at that stuff. But I noticed that you seem like a very capable young woman, and that's actually what I'm looking for right now."

This caused her to raise her eyebrows wearily, and he decided to rephrase his words. "Er.. Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. What I mean, is, I run an office-type business, and what I'm looking for is someone who's willing to do all the odd jobs around the place. You looking for a job right now?"

There was silence, then she cheekily turned away. His hopes came crashing down, but a second later they came roaring back to life when she spoke in a clipped voice. "Give me the address."

Beaming, he pulled out a business card from his pocket and handed it to her. "Whenever you feel up to it, just stop by, okay?"

She rolled her eyes after skeptically glancing at the card. "What, so I can stop by in the middle of the night? That's a stupid thing to say, moron."

Still grinning, Izumi just shrugged. "We'll see."

* * *

After some debate, Yuka and Izumi finally came to an agreement about the strange girl.

"She's definitely not normal, that girl. And it wasn't just her appearance, but her personality. What do you think, is it worth the effort?"

Yuka smirked. "Sweetie, it's always worth the effort. I've been waiting for a tough case like this, and you've happened to literally bump into the perfect one!" Her eyes stared determinedly into Izumi's, and he let out a sigh, smiling helplessly. "You're really into this job. I should have known after all these years that you were getting restless."

Punching his shoulder, Yuka walked over to the door. "Restless? You're kidding me, right? Izumi, It's never boring around here, but I just feel a little… tense, that's all."

Sweating, Izumi stared after her. "For the well-being of that girl, I really hope you don't take it out on her just to release your energy." he muttered.

* * *

Yuka sat down next to Tsubasa, who was scratching something down in a notebook. "So, get anything good?"

Tsubasa rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I now know just how much Natsume hates to be treated like a kid, and he just proved that looks can _definitely_ kill, and his attitude is that of an arrogant teenager! Besides that, no, not really. So is your revenge satisfied?"

Smirking, Yuka just peeked at his notebook. "Kid, I was never after revenge. Honestly, I just thought that he would be able to connect with someone closer to his age."

Shaking his head, Tsubasa stood up. "That boy's just something else, ya know? I mean, you two are professionals! I've never had a case before, so why stick me with this guy?"

Yuka patted his shoulder. "You'll figure it out, mister."

* * *

It was exactly midnight. Why, why the HECK was the fricken doorbell ringing? Grumbling, Izumi scrambled out of bed, stumbled down the hallway that connected their house to the office, and groggily opened the door.

"You!?" He exclaimed once more, staring in shock at the girl from before. She winced at his loud voice, but didn't glare. "You said that I could come at midnight. So here I am."

Rubbing his forehead, Izumi groaned. "Yeah, I did, but I was kinda being sarcastic. Whatever, come on in now that you're here."

She scoffed. "What, you think I'd just walk in some random man's house? Nice try. Instead, get me an application form if you think I'll be able to work for you."

Sighing, Izumi stepped outside and closed the door. "Listen, you're welcome to work for us, but this isn't an official job. You'll just be sticking around when we need you, and I'll give you some money at the end of the week. Sound good to you?"

After a moment's though, the girl nodded. "That's fine by me. When do I show up?"

"Anytime except midnight!" Izumi said firmly, then restated that. "I take that back. Just be here by ten tomorrow, is that good?"

She nodded, and was gone in the blink of an eye. Rubbing his head, Izumi stumbled back to his bedroom. Yuka sat up and gave him a questioning glance. Shrugging, he just got under the covers. "That was the girl from before. Seems she'll be working here by tomorrow."

Chuckling, Yuka gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I knew you could do it! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh, you're the best!"

Shaking his head, her husband smiled.

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